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| Pearl River, China |
Discovering Liberation of Spirit and Mind
Cold piercing hearts sit behind barred rusted steel windows. A minuscule opening to the world buried deep within politics, communism and dollar. Bleak skyscrapers reach higher and higher, gasping for air that is flooded with chemicals from factories next door, down the street and within. Creativity is scarcely salvaged from industrial markets dominating the once traditional cultural utopia.
Despite monopolistic destruction to both nature and being, China is a land where one can find liberation. It is freeing. It is where spirit and mind shatter barred imprisonment and leap into imaginative pristine beginnings.
It is a land of milk and honey for those who see themselves. I saw myself. But did I like what I had seen?
On March 19th, I flew from Los Angeles to Guangzhou, China to challenge myself. I booked the ticket on a whim (~2 weeks in advance) despite money uncertainty - because why the hell not?
I had already discovered Australia (& was on my way there once again to visit my boyfriend for his 22nd birthday - *shout out to my very own Aussie: I love you Nick!) and New Zealand and was ready for something more. I needed a culture shock, I wanted to experience. I desired to learn.
Below is a summary of events that added to an enlightening understanding of self:
- Met Shannon, Matt and James from Kalgoonie, Australia. They were on their way home and had a 17 hour layover. I decided to make some new mates (it seems I am attracted to Australians) to explore Guangzhou with.
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| My new Aussie mates and I. From Left to Right, James, me, Shannon and Matt. |
- The exploration continued all day. We figured out how to navigate a new world in a language foreign to ourselves.
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| Poverty is everywhere. Western and Traditional culture surround the city as one outlandish sphere. |
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| Traffic is horrendous. Lanes do not seem to exist. In one lane there is a brand new Mercedes and the next there is a man on a scooter with woven baskets piled high on his automobile. |
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| But yet I was happy. I felt liberated. I was present. |
So, what's the big hype? I mean so what? People travel everyday.
Yes, no one spoke English. Yes, people were horrid and gave me the cold shoulder. Yes, no one returned my smile. And yes, I was lost in a foreign city and culture.
But I was liberated. Enjoyably so.
I relied on the person I know best. The girl I believe in every day who keeps fighting despite being knocked to the ground time after time again. The woman who will never stop traveling, learning and educating. The person who never stops writing. Because that is who she is. Words is her world and the feelings tied to those words, her universe.
She is a writer. A journalist.
A sharer of information to those who need to feel. Those wanting nothing more than to break free from those barred rusted steel windows they unknowingly set for themselves.
I was me. All it took was a trip to another world to appreciate a driven being composed of the intricate pieces of spirit, mind and heart.
At the airport about to board my next flight to Sydney, Australia:
- Left boarding pass on cart (Because I am a doofus)
- Directed to immigration. Told I had to go through security again although my plane was about to board...
- Got replacement boarding pass from the nice Chinese gentleman. My panicked demeanor broke down the language barrier. Emotions as universal language.
- Ended up at the wrong gate and asked for help but no one spoke English.
- Figured it out and ran my butt off to the third floor to the correct gate.
- Boarded the plane (last call). Sat down in my seat. Had a conversation with a stranger about the meaning of life.
- And eventually... found my way home into the arms of my loving boyfriend.
